Advice On Properly Feeding Loaches

[FishOverseer909]

I need help feeding my Inle Loaches at first, I thought I had it down by leaving a decent amount of food in a bowl near where they pass since they're extremely hyper and wont stop to feed instead they simply grab a piece and zoom by but I feel like that's not enough food wise but anything more they just let float down and decay. So idk what to do and using the bowl seems to have messed up my ammonia balance.

 

[Jkaliszew]

I need help feeding my Inle Loaches at first, I thought I had it down by leaving a decent amount of food in a bowl near where they pass since they're extremely hyper and wont stop to feed instead they simply grab a piece and zoom by but I feel like that's not enough food wise but anything more they just let float down and decay. So idk what to do and using the bowl seems to have messed up my ammonia balance.

Hi, I have chain loaches and they are the same way zipping around chaotically in my tank. I have found luck with the frozen shrimp and bloodworms. And a trigger warning here but I had another small tank that was overrun with pest snails so I would also drop them in the loach tank and they make quick work of them. It’s been 6 months and they are thriving so I know they are eating.

 

[A201]

I think I have 18 Loaches in my 120 gal. tank. YoYo's, Modesta, Kubotai and Berdmorei Tigers.

All eagerly eat Omega One sinking Goldfish pellets. This stuff is primarily made up of Salmon, Herring, Shrimp & Kelp. No fillers.

The bigger Loaches go after the Omega One sinking Catfish pellets.

I just spread a sensible amout of the Goldfish pellets from one end of the tank to the other. The pellets sink pretty quick, so the top & midwater feeders don't interfere too badly.

The Catfish Pellets should be fed sparingly. Only a few pellets per feeding.

If you have the money and don't mind dealing with the mess of feeding frozen blood worms and brine shrimp, go for it, but only consider this a supplement. The pellets contain more vitamins & minerals and should be the dietary staple.

 

[Redshark1]

I think I would have sand or a very fine gravel not larger stones that the food might get lost in. I would feed them at the front of the tank to get them used to coming out.

I have a water butt outside my front window which yields lots of live foods including water fleas and aquatic larvae (the worm-like fly larvae such as bloodworm etc.). I think they would love these.

The good thing about live foods is that their movement stimulates feeding and they can stay in the tank for a while without polluting the water. From a fish-free source like a water butt I've never had any issues with parasites.

I also use frozen bloodworm. Don't forget these are foods almost all fish have access to in abundance in nature. The different brands vary a lot in size.

I would feed frozen cooked mussels and shrimp intended for human consumption. These are available at supermarkets. The reason for using cooked and not raw is to avoid toxic thiaminase which is present in many raw foods. Cooking destroys the thiaminase. You can chop these things up very fine if you wish or need to do so or you may find the fish like to peck small pieces off a larger portion.

I've yet to try cockles which are supposed to be stocked by a specialist fishmongers near me. I believe these are free of thiaminase.

There are lots of fine sinking granules and flakes available to try which your fish may take. I crush them up e.g. fluval bug bites with a rolling pin to feed small species. I also use tetra discus granules and NLS granules.

 

[Noroomforshoe]

What are you feeding/trying to feed them?
your loaches are likely wild coaght, and it may take time "months" for them to adapt to processed foods. Please consider some of Redshark!'s ideas, and also consider zoo meds can o worms, and or can o cyclops, or a meat heavy type of repashy. And offer a little bit of processed food at the same time. The pellets recomended by A201 sound great.

If you have ammonia, then your tank is not established/cycled as well/as long as it should be. please make more freguent water changes and tests. You can use a turkey baster to remove some uneaten food until they start eating more.There is also the Eheim electric sand washer that removes crud but not water if you think you need it.

 

[FishOverseer909]

Thanks everyone, Im hoping to use what A201 suggested being the Omega 1 small goldfish pellets as they do eat pellets as Ive been slowly feeding them Hikari micro pellets howevers these float and tend to fly all over the tank. My tank has been cycling for nearly 6 months with snails and the like and before buying my fish I had checked each week for a month and every time it came out 0 but at the moment my ammonia seems to be sitting at 0.25 which Im hoping is the result of adding 7 fish to the system so promptly and that will eventually balance out.

 

[Redshark1]

All my 3 mature tanks have ammonia. My testing suggests ammonia sits at 0.25 or under and has done for 30 years of testing. The API test always shows yellow with a slight green tinge.

This makes sense to me as ammonia is produced 24/7 and must make its way to the filter to be processed which takes time. Therefore there will always be some ammonia present and this will show up on the test. Ammonia is produced by our fish (or other living inhabitants) and decaying organic matter. It may be introduced with tap water in some cases.

I was told on here that the API test is not accurate and my 0.25ppm ammonia is actually zero. However, I don't think that is true. I think the test is accurate enough for its intended purpose.

The one system where I have measured ammonia at zero is my water butt. The test colour is clear yellow without a green tinge.

I think the API test is a great asset to us aquarists if interpreted correctly and in line with the instructions.